May was not a sunny month in Glasgow but the music kept things bright. Somehow, the usual eclectic assortment of jazz, hip-hop, funk, pop, and dance music seems to keep making its way to my ears. Here are some of my favorite albums from the month.
Not sure if this list is for you? My musical tastes vary widely, but you’ll generally always find hip-hop, jazz, funk, or a blend of each in the selections along with the occasional country, rock, and reggae album. I’m always looking for new (and old) music so any recommendations are welcome!
Want more? Check out my other favorite music posts.
Also, you can find a playlist of tracks that I love on my Right About Now playlist. 🎧
Blue Lab Beats
The Sounds of Afrotronica
This one kind of defies categorization. An instrumental jazz funk afro beats album? Whatever. It’s so good it hurts. I play this all. the. time.
We are a jazztronica duo from London aged 22 and 27. Our influences include jazz, hip-hop, soul, funk, R&B and others. Mix it all up and out comes the sound of Blue Lab Beats!
Check out the newest EP as well, We Will Rise. 🌬️
Benny Sings
Music
I had probably heard Benny Sings before (this is his eight album!) but this one has been a revelation. A perfect Saturday afternoon album.
Khrysis
The Hour of Khrysis
My friends and I know Khrysis as one of the best (and most underrated) producers of the last 20 years. This album continues that legacy. Must. Listen.
Daniel Norgren
The Sharecropper’s Daughter
I don’t know much about Daniel Norgren, but he hits me in the same place as War on Drugs, Lord Huron, My Morning Jacket, and Andrew Hibbard with a mix of rock, blues, and country. This has been my favorite morning album this month.
El Michaels Affair
Yeti Season
A funky, mostly-instrumental, album that is just perfect as a backdrop for work or play.
Michels had spent the better part of three decades as an industry fixture: playing sax with Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings when he was still a teenager, becoming Raekwon’s favorite session musician, working with everyone from Beyoncé and Jay Z to the Black Keys. After a while, though, he settled into the role of upstate dad, ferrying his three kids to and from school, often with the music on the car stereo blasting a song he had a hand in creating.
Leon Michaels also backed up Freddie Gibbs and Madlib on one of the year’s most popular Tiny Desk Concerts. 🤯
Honorable mentions ✌️
The new CZARFACE with MF Doom album Super What? is really good (hip-hop supergroup with Inspectah Deck from Wu-Tang!?). I am really liking Zo! – Abstractions for its chill R&B vibe. Also, Arlo Parks – Collapsed In Sunbeams is great songwriting and good for any occasion.
Comments welcome!